Folding chair.



' No. 792,127. PATENTED JUNE13,1905.

B. 0. I. HALLGREN.

FOLDING CHAIR APPLIUATION FILED FEB.3,1904.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

sses:

WCJZVWYV l I by fima PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

B. C. I. HALLGREN.

FOLDING CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.3.1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Merely) 131'01' 6Z1? Mllgren, y M/ mbwsses: TIM C 7 X PATENTED JUNE 13,1905.

B. G. I. HALLGREN.'

FOLDING CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.3,1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 8- liwentor .Bmr 61112111 by @i f t m'tne'ssea. T) W L M1314 UNTTED STATES Patented June 13, 1905.

BROR O. I. HALLGREN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOLDING CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,127, dated June 13,1905.

Application filed February 3, 1904. Serial No. 191,808.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. BROR G. I. HALLGREN, a citizen of Sweden, and aresident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Chairs, ofwhich the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in folding chairs, especiallywell adapted for use in theaters, lecture-rooms, or public halls, &c.,and it has for its object means for automatically swinging the seat toan upright position when not occupied, so as to leave afree passage topersons while leaving the auditorium at the close of the performance, orin case of a fire or accident occurring when it is desired to allow thepublic to leave the hall as quickly as possible.

The'chair is pivotally connected to its base so that it may be turnedaround its axis to enable persons in one row of the seats to passreadily into the next row in the rear, as may be advantageous for aperson in passing from one row of seats to the next one adjacent theretowithout passing by persons in the row of seats occupied by people in thesame row with the person desirous of leaving the seat, as willhereinafter be more fully shown and described, reference being bad tothe accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a top plan view of oneof my improved folding chairs, showing the seat in a horizontalposition. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of 2. showing the stationary base in section. Fig. 4: is aside elevation of the chair, showing the seat swung into an upright, ornearly so, position when not in use. Fig. 5 is an enlarged partialcross-section on the line 5 5 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detailvertical section on the line 6 6 shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a partialfront view of the seat and one of the pivoted'arm-rests, showing aportion of the latter in section; and Fig. 8 is a vertical section onthe line 8 8 shown in Fig. 7.

Similar letters refer to similar parts wherever they occur on thedifierent parts of the drawings.

In the drawings, A represents the tubular base or chair-support securedin a suitable manner to the floor.

B represents the chair-frame, having a downwardly-projectingspindle b,loosely journaled in the tubular base A, to enable the chair to berotated as may be desired.

O is the seat-frame, preferably made of metal and provided with acushion O, as usual. At or near its rear portion the seatframe ispivotally connected at O to the chairframe B to enable the seat to beswung from the normal position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown inFigs. 1, 2, and 3, and vice versa.

D represents the preferably metal chairback, which may be made integralwith the chair-frame B or attached thereto in any suitable or practicalmanner.

(Z is the cushion of the chair-back.

In each of the upright sides of the chairback is made a longitudinalgroove or pocket D, in which is movable a spring-pressed block E. (Shownin Figs. 5 and 6.) Saidblock E is provided with a lateral pin 0, whichextends through a longitudinal slot f in a plate or cover F, secured toeach side of the chairback D, as shown. In practice such block E islongitudinally perforated and through it passes loosely a rod E, to thelower end of which is attached nuts 0 e, as shown in Fig. 6. Upon saidspindle E between the block E and nuts 6 is located a coiledcompression-spring G. (Shown in Figs. 4 and 6.) The upper end of the rodE is screw-threaded and passes through a perforation in the upper end ofthe chair-frameD and is provided with a nut E, by means of which thetension of the spring G may be regulated according to the weight of thechair-seat that is pivotally connected to said block E, as willhereinafter be described.

H H represent the arm-rests, one in each side of the chair, each sucharm-rest being pivotally connected at its upper end to the pin a on theblock E, as shown. The lower portion of each arm-rest H is made tubular,as shown at H in Figs. 7 and 8, and within it is located a coileddrawing-spring I, the upper end of which is attached to the arm-rest andhaving its lower end attached to a block K, movable in the tubularportion H of the arm-rest, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The said block Kis suitably attached or pivotally connected to the side of thechair-frame G, as shown in Fig. 7, and has a reduced portion or shankZ7, adapted to slide in a slotted opening 72/ in the side of the tunilarportit'm H of the arm-rest, as shown in Fig. 7.

hen the chair is not occupied, as shown in Fig. 4, the side openings G Gcause the blocks E E to be forced to the position shown in Figs. 4 and 6at or about the same time as the arm-springs I I are contracted, bywhich the chair-seat and its arm-rests are held out of the way by theaction of the said springs G I,

as represented in Fig. 4t, and when the chairseat and arm-rests arethus, as it were, collapsed they are not in the way for persons passingby the seats in coming or going. If desired, the chair may be turnedaround its axis to enable a person to pass from one row of seats intoanother one, as hereinabove described. When the chair is to be used, itis only necessary for a person to swing the chair-seat with itsarm-rests against the action of the springs G I from the position shownin Fig. 4: to that shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and as long as the personis seated the chair will remain in the position shown in said ligures.As soon as a person rises from the seat the latter and its arm-restswill automatically assume the closed positions shown in Fig. 4, which isdone by the action of the seat and arm-rest springs hereinbeforementioned.

In practice I prefer to use in construction with this my improvedfolding-chair a pivoted seat-support constructed as follows: To thesides of the seat-frame C is pivotall y connected at Z a preferablycurved or semicircular frame or brace, the lower end L of which is.preferably curved and adapted to rest against an annular shoulder A onthe chairbase A when the chair is occupied, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.Then the seat is raised, the said seat-brace is automatically swung byits own gravity to the out-of-the-way position shown in Fig. 4. For thepurpose of preventing the said brace from assuming a vertical positionduring the forward swinging motion of the seat, and particularly whenthe lower portion of said brace approaches the shoulder A on thechair-base A, so as to guide it properly onto said shoulder, I make onthe upper end of said brace a lip or side projection Z, adapted to reston the under side of the chair-frame when the lower end of said braceapproaches the shoulder A or comes to a rest thereon during the openingmovement of the seat.

Having thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation ofmy invention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent and claim 1. In achair,the combination of a standard,a frame and back rotating thereon,aseat hinged to the frame and folding up against the back, arm-restspivotally connected to the seat and having their rear ends pivotallyconnected to movable spring-pressed blocks, arranged in grooves in theback and compressible springs located in said grooves, as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In achair the combination of astandard, a frame and back rotatingthereon, a seat hinged on the frame and folding up against the back,arm-rests pivotally and yieldingly connected at their forward ends tothe seat and having the rear ends of said arm-rests yieldingl yconnected to the back as and for the purpose set forth.

3. Inachair the combination of a frame and back, a seat hinged on theframe and folding up against the back, arm-rests yieldingly pivoted attheir forward ends to the seat and pivotally connected at their upperends to a block movable in a groove in the chair-back and a compressiblespring arranged in said groove for normally holding said seat in itsnormal upwardly-swinging position substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

4. In a chair, the combination of a frame and back, a seat hinged on theframe and folding up against the back, arm-rests yieldingly andpivotally connected at their forward ends to the seat and pivotallyconnected at their rear ends to blocks movable in guides in the back,springs located in grooves in the back for normally holding saidarm-rests in their upper position, blocks pivotally connected to theseat and coiled drawing-springs attached to the blocks at one end and tothe rear portions of the arm-rests at the other end substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

5. In a chair, the combination of a stand ard,a frame and back rotatingthereon, a seat hinged to the frame, a seat-support hinged to the seatand having a lip or projection at its upper end, and having a preferablyforked lower end and a shoulder or projection on the standard,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

BROR (l. I. HALLGREN.

IVitnesses:

ALBAN ANDnnN, FRED H. Gnossnn.

